A new cabinet position and a commonwealth agency focused on energy production and coordination are on the agenda for state business leaders who want to expand Pennsylvania’s gas economy.

In a report released Thursday entitled “Forge the Future: Ideas for Actions,” industry leaders said that the state’s potential in gas economic growth – totaling $60 billion between production, energy generation and manufacturing - is threatened by poor business conditions in the state, from the nation high 9.99 corporate net income tax to slow permitting.

A lower corporate income tax, a new tax on retirement income, regular property assessments and a broader sales tax base were all pitched in a new report on reforming Pennsylvania’s tax system sponsored by the PA Chamber.

The analysis, done by the conservative Tax Foundation, is an attempt to rectify what PA Chamber vice president of government affairs Sam Denisco said is a system with “a lot to be desired.”

“For too long, our state’s uncompetitive tax structure has caused the Commonwealth to lag behind other states – missing out on economic opportunity and growth,” Denisco said in a statement. “In order to compete in today’s global economy, we need to take a page out of the federal government’s book and take a hard look at the shortcomings within the state’s Tax Code.”